Apparatus for separating ore



Sept. 19, 1961 E. A. HOBART APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ORE Original Filed Aug. 21, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 liillli v INVENTOR.

' EDWARD A. HOBART BY 7;;%-//

\IIO/ FIG- 3 ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1961 E. A. HOBART 3,000,502

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ORE Original Filed Aug. 21, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. & EDWARD Aggy? ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1961 E. A. HOBART APPARATUS FOR SEPARATINGORE Original Filed Aug. 21, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 JNIZENToR. EDWARQ' HOBART ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1961 E. A. HOBART APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ORE Original Filed Aug. 21, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG-7 INVENTOR.-

EDWARD A. HOBART ATTORNEY$ 3,000,502 APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ORE Edward A. Hobart, Troy, Ohio, assignor to The Hobart Brothers Company, Troy, Ohio Original application Aug. 21, 1956, Ser. No. 605,310, now Patent-No. 2,938,627, dated May 31, 1960. Divided and this application July 1, 1959, Ser. No. 824,239

4 Claims. (Cl. 209458) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for separating ore, particularly finely divided ores such as are entrained in the sands of beaches and is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 605,310 filed August 21, 1956, now Patent No. 2,938,627.

It has been discovered that sand, particularly beach sand, has valuable minerals entrained therein which can be removed from the sand profitably where the volume of sand is sufficient to yield a relatively large return and where the sand can be handled economically and at a rapid rate.

A number of plants have been installed for recover: ing ore from beach sand and the like, but these plants are generally stationarily situated making it necessary to convey the sand to be processed to the plant and to haul the debris or failings therefrom.

In the operation of such a plant certain variables must be taken into consideration, such as the feed rate of the sand, the density thereof, and the particular movement which the sand takes at the instant of separation.

In general, all plants, including the arrangement of the present invention, which handle finely divided ores or sand in bulk operateto effect an initial separation of the waste material from the ore bearing portion of the sand by a gravity concentration operation. Thereafter, the valuable content of the ore bearing concentrate can be separated from the bulk of the concentrate by utilizing a high voltage electric field, by utilizing a magnetic field, by further gravity treatment, or by other processes such as by flotation and the like.

It is with the gravity separation that the present inven: tion is particularly concerned.

Due to the variables referred to above that afliect the operation of the gravity separator, such separators heretofore, in order to attain a fair degree of efiiciency, have been provided with multiple adjustments. It will be evident that with such multiple adjustments any change in the character of the sand being treated, or in the rate of flow thereof, will necessitate excessive readjustment of the device in order to maintain the operating efliciency thereof. Thus, in a plant of large capacity, either the speed of operation of the plant or the efliciency thereof will suffer if there is any variation whatsoever in the nature of the sand being handled or in the flow chanacteristics thereof.

Having the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an ore concentrator or sand separator of the nature referred to which is rapid in operation and which can be retained in efficient operation without making multiple adjustments in the device.

A further object of the present invention is the provision in a gravity type ore separator of an arrangement insuring substantially uniform flow characteristics of the ore at all times thereby substantially eliminating one of the variables which affect the operation of the usual type gravity separator. p

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a gravity type separator which is so constructed that a minimum number of adjustments are required to maintain the separator operating efiiciently at all times.

A still object of the present invention is the provision pf a method and apparatus for distributing the nited States atent Patented Sept. 19, 1961 sand or ore and sand mixture to be separated or split into a plurality of separate channels so that the distribution of the ore is uniform to all of the said channels thereby providing for uniform operating conditions in the several channels.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a distributing arrangement for ore coming into a separating stage or station of an apparatus according to the present jacent sluices;

FIGURE 4 is a plan sectional view indicated by line 4- 4 on FIGURE 1 showing the distributor mechanism associated with the separating stage or station and the manner in which the ore flows therefrom to the several sluices of the stage or station;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view showing one of the sluices and the divided compartment into which the sluice discharges and the divider member in the compartment which separates or divides the discharge from the sluice;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view showing the sluice arrangement of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 'is a view corresponding to the lower righthand portion of FIGURE 1 but illustrating the manner in which the discharge from the beach sluice can be divided into three fractions instead of two; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary view corresponding to FIGURE 5, but showing somewhat more in detail the manner in which the discharge from the sluice of FIG- URE 7 is divided into three fractions.

In the gravity separation of sand by forming a slurry thereof and conveying the slurry through the sluices, the uniformity of distribution of the slurry to the sluices is important to obtain uniform separation of the sand. Still further, after the sand has reached the individual sluices it is important for the slurry to be flowed into the sluices so that a uniformly mixed slurry is supplied to each and every sluice.

The making of the slurry is generally accomplished by admixing the desired amount of water with a predetermined amount of sand and adjusting this relationship when necessary to maintain the proper mixture. The sand can be dredged up from a beach or from beneath the water, and after stones and other foreign matter are removed therefrom the sand can be delivered directly to the sluices, after being admixed with Water, or it can be stored in hoppers and removed therefrom as needed.

Normally, the sand is passed through a plurality of separating stations or stages in order to arrive at a concentrate of sufiicient value to Warrant the processing thereof in a refining plant.

As mentioned, one of the most important considerations is the maintaining of the slurry admixed and uni form up to the point where it enters the sluices.

The manner in which this is accomplished by the present invention, and which is one of the essential features a distributing chamber which comprises a cylindrical vessel 82 within which is mounted a smaller cylindrical vessel 84 having an opening 86 in its bottom wall through which the slurry passes into vessel 82. A baffle plate 88 is positioned so that the slurry from the nozzle 80 must flow thereover, and thereby the slurry is maintained intimately admixed while it is passing through vessel 84 and out opening 86 in the bottom thereof into vessel 82. Vessel 82 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced discharge nozzles 90 through which the slurry passes so as to drop downwardly into a plurality of circumferentially spaced chambers 92.

In order to provide for uniform distribution of the slurry amongst the chambers 92, while at the same time maintaining the slurry admixed, the vessels 82 and 84 and the baffle plate 88 are connected together and mounted on a drive shaft 94 extending downwardly from a drive motor arrangement 96. Shaft 94 is journalled at the opposite ends in suitable bearing means, and by its rotation provides for absolutely uniform distribution of a uniform mixture of water and sand to the several compartments 92.

The compartments 92 are each provided with a discharge conduit 98, and each discharge conduit leads to a Y discharge fitting 100, the two discharge openings of which are arranged to discharge into the adjacently arranged hopper means 102. Since there are twelve of the chambers or compartments 92 it will be evident that there are 24 of the hoppers 102 associated with each distributor head. This will best be seen in FIGURE 7 wherein the said chambers or compartments and the receiving hoppers and the conduits leading thereto are clearly illustrated.

The hoppers 102 are each provided with discharge fittings 104 at the bottom ends thereof, and each said discharge fitting 104 divides the discharge from the pertaining hopper into two paths, and these are conveyed downwardly and outwardly through the conduits 106. At the lower outer end of each conduit 106 there is a still further flow dividing fitting 108, best seen in FIGURE 6, which splits the slurry flowing through the pertaining conduit into two paths and delivers this flow into the two adjacently arranged troughs 110.

The actual separation of the sand into its various fractions is now ready to commence. This actual separation is accomplished by causing the slurry of sand and water to fiow along an elongated sluice, and during which travel the heavier fraction of the sand will tend to migrate toward the bottom of the stream and the lighter fraction of the sand will tend to migrate toward the upper portion of the stream.

When the stream of slurry is discharged from the sluice it tends to fan out and, by locating a dividing blade at the proper point, the heavier fraction in the stream willpass over to one side of the dividing blade and the lighter fraction will pass over to the other side whereby a division of the sand, according to weight, is accomplished.

This action, and the construction and arrangement of the sluices and the dividing blade associated therewith, will best be seen in FIGURES 5 and 6 considered in connection with FIGURE 1.

Each sluice 110 will be seen to comprise a relatively large basin portion 112 that receives the sand-water slurry from the divider fitting 108 toward the rear thereof so that, as the slurry is supplied to the sluice, there is a circulation thereof in the said basin portion that maintains the slurry admixed. Each sluice also comprises a downwardly extending spout portion 114 which, as will be seen in FIGURE 6, tapers inwardly toward the dis charge end. The sand-water slurry overflows from the lip 116 at the forward edge of the basin and establishes a stream that flows downwardly through the spout 114 which narrows as it proceeds, and which narrowing of the stream tends to cause the fanning out thereof, as the slurry discharges from the sluice, which is illustrated at 118 in FIGURE 5.

As has been explained before, there is also a migration of the heavier portion of the sand toward the bottom of the stream and of the lighter portion toward the top of the stream so that, when the fanned out discharge from the sluice is engaged by the rubberlike separator blade 120, the lighter fraction passes over the blade to be received in a hopper 122, while the heavier fraction is delivered to the hopper 124 on the side of blade nearest the sluice.

According to the present invention the distribution of the sand-water slurry and the arrangement of the sluices is such that individual adjustments of the sluices and of the blades 120 associated therewith is not necessary. Rather, it is sufficient for each bank of sluices to rest on an angle 126 adjacent their discharge ends and to be supported on a fixed supporting angle 128 adjacent their receiving ends, and which angles 126 are vertically adjustable by the screw and handwheel arrangement 130 to provide for varying the angle of inclination of each bank of sluices as a unit.

A Each bank of sluices also has associated therewith two hoppers and in each hopper (in the rougher section) there is the single separating or dividing blade 120, and each thereof is provided with a screw and handwheel adjustment 132 so that a single adjustment is effective for varying the angle to which the blade 120 is tilted, and thus varying the exact manner in which the fanned-out slurry of sand and water is divided.

I It has been found satisfactory to provide merely these two basic adjustments in connection with the apparatus illustrated, and this, of course, greatly simplifies the operation of the device and provides means whereby the character of the separation of the sand can quickly be modified to meet changing conditions, thus providing an arrangement whereby the apparatus is maintained in its highest degree of operating efiiciency at all times.

The separating arrangement described above is the one pertaining to the rougher section of a separating device, but the other separating stations following the rougher section are identical in all respects except that it is preferable for the separating stations subsequent to the rougher station to be provided with an arrangement whereby two separating or dividing blades are employed instead of only a single one, whereby the discharge from each sluice is divided into three fractions instead of two. Such an illustration is seen in FIGURES 7 and 8, wherein it will be seen that the discharge from the sluice is engaged by the blades 127 and 129 so that the discharge from the sluice is divided into a heavy fraction that falls into hopper 134, an intermediate fraction that falls into hopper 136, and a lighter fraction that falls into hopper 138 As stated before, each set of blades 127, 129 pertains to one of the two hoppers associated with each bank of sluices, and each of said blades has single screw and handwheel adjustment for varying the particular angle at which the pertaining blade is tilted.

Each of the several hoppers or compartments associated with the divider blades described above is provided with a discharge conduit leading from the bottom thereof, via which the fraction delivered to the compartment is conveyed either to waste or to a main hopper located along the bottom of the separating device.

In any case, whether the present invention is incorporated in a floating barge type separator or a stationary separator, the particular advantages of the prwent invention will obtain that the sand-water slurry being separated would be distributed uniformly throughout the apparatus and maintained intimately admixed at all times, except during the separating operation, and that a minin rum number of adjustments would be required for adjusting the apparatus to varying conditions.

It will be evident that most of the individual com-- and modification of the apparatus-is quite simple, and

the manufacture thereof, the shipping, and the installation thereof is also made relatively easy since no extremely large and bulky components need to be handled.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and accordingly it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an ore separator; a sluice comprising a dovm- Wardly inclined trough having side walls that converge toward the lower end thereof, divider blade means in the path of the discharge from the sluice, means tiltably sup porting the blade means to vary the division of the discharge from the sluice, and compartments comprising partition means extending along beneath the blade means so the discharge passing on opposite sides of the blade means is separately collected, said sluice having an enlarged dependent basin portion at its upper end, means for supplying a Water slurry of the ore to said basin to the side thereof that is opposite the connection of the said trough to the basin, said basin portion in cross section having a rounded bottom so the material supplied thereto will swirl about in the basin and remain in mixed condition, the side of the basin adjacent the trough being unobstructed whereby the slurry in its mixed condition overflows freely into the trough.

2. In an ore separator; a plurality of sluices arranged in parallel, each sluice comprising a downwardly inclined trough having side walls that converge toward the lower end thereof, each sluice also having an enlarged depend-- ent basin portion at the upper end, means for supplying a water slurry of the ore to each basin to the side thereof that is opposite the connection of the said trough to the basin, said slurry overflowing into the pertaining trough, a receiving compartment into which the sluices discharge, divider blade means in the compartment extending lengthwise thereof to divide the discharge from the sluices, means tiltably supporting said blade means, partitions in'the compartment beneath the blade means, and a single adjusting means for adjusting the angle of inclination of all of said sluices at one time, said basin portion in cross section having a rounded bottom so the material supplied thereto will swirl about in the basin and remain in mixed condition, the side of the basin adjacent the trough being unobstructed whereby the slurry in its mixed condition overflows freely into the trough.

3. In a sand separator; a plurality of sluices arranged in parallel, each sluice comprising an inclined trough with side walls that converge toward the lower end, a receiving compartment to receive the discharge from the sluices,

a partition in the compartment, a divider blade at the top of the partition to divide the discharge from the sluices, means for supplying a slurry of sand and water to the upper ends of said sluices and distributing the slurry uniformly therebetween, each sluice comprising a basin portion at the upper end from which the slurry overflows to flow down the pertaining trough, and means for supplying the slurry to each basin on the side opposite the side where the overflow into the pertaining trough takes place, said basin portion in cross section having a rounded bottom so the material supplied thereto will swirl about in the basin and remain in mixed condition, the side of the basin adjacent the trough being unobstructed whereby the slurry in its mixed condition overflows freely into the trough.

4. In a sand separator; a plurality of sluices arranged in parallel and each said sluice comprising a downwardly inclined trough, the side walls of which taper inwardly toward the lower discharge end of the trough and the upper end of each sluice comprising an enlarged basin portion, means for supplying a slurry of sand and water to the basins on the sides thereof opposite said troughs, the upper ends of said sluices being supported in alignment, a support member on which the lower ends of a plurality of said sluices rest, means for raising and lowering said support member to vary the exact path of the discharge from the sluices resting thereon, a hopper positioned so that the discharge from the plurality of sluices enters the upper end thereof, partitions extending lengthwise of said hopper, and divider blade means adjustably mounted on the tops of said partitions adapted for splitting the discharge from the plurality of sluices so that fractions of the slurry of different specific gravity are collected in separate compartments of the hopper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 921,252 Huelsdonk May 11, 1909 1,104,299 Huelsdonk July 21, 1914 1,104,969 Dar-row July 28, 1914 1,228,959 Oliver June 5, 1917 1,894,058 Rice Jan. 10, 1933 2,022,585 Chance Nov. 26, 1935 2,171,674 Schifferle Sept. 5, 1939 2,583,768 France Ian. 29, 1952 2,644,583 Cannon July 7, 1953 2,766,882 Cannon Oct. 16, 1956 2,875,898 Spencer Mar. 3, 1959 

